Wasatch Advisors LP Has $5.73 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wasatch Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 151,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,338,000 after buying an additional 13,228 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Finward Bancorp bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $679,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,610,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $93.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $117.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.01.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.